Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-04-01
CHEWING is BAD FORM NOW.
Men Are Taking To Substitutes-How
Roscoe Conkling Broke Upa Habit.

Roscoe Conkling Broke Upa Habit.
Manufacturers of tobacco say that the
habit of chewing is rapidly becoming
as obsolete as that of snuff-taking, ex-
cept among workingmen. You will
find some OF the older men of wealth
and refinement who chew nowadays"
said large dealer, "but they acquired
the habit years ago, when it was not
thought vulgar or disreputable to
chew. Some of the older judges chew.
and there are members of the supreme
court of the United States who were
not easy on the bench unless they had
a qud. A very few clergymcn use
tobacco in this way. and not few of
the older lawyers and other profession
al men of years. But in the younger
generation of cultivated men of good
manners there are very few, compare
lively, now to be found who chew. The
young men of TO-DAY rarely acquire the
habit, and predict that within the next
few years users of the weed in this
form will be only those who belong To
the less cultivated society. 1t is now
regarded very bad form to chew,
though thirty years ago it was not.
No; chewing is going the way of snuff
taking.
Many of our most prominent public
men have fought hard to overcome
tins habit. In Chicago and St. LOUIS
chewing is now regarded rs vulgar by
persons who make any pretensions TO
social standing. and many of the de-
vices employed by men To overcome the
habit are amusing. At the late trial OF
Maxwell in St. Louis the three prescott
/ inc officers were noticed constantly
chewing during the trial, and one of
them said: YES, we are chew
ing spruce gum. and we are
doing 1T TO break the habit of chew
ing tobacco, and if you will notice
on the street you will see three men out
Of five Il mean, of course those who are
not workingmen) vigorously working
| their Jaws. They are chewing gum.
! for there seems to be a tacit agree
ment among gentlemen here TO quit
chewing tobacco.
Many men now carry a strip of Slip
perry elm in their pocket. and when
they feel the Old craving come over
them, then they bite of a bit and chew
it. A downtown druggist said that he
sold a great deal of licorce root TO men
who were irving 20 break the tobacco
habit. Roscoe Conklng used TO chew,
although he never used tobacco prepar-
ed for chewing. He had habit of
taking good cigar, cutting il in two
in the middle, then p acing the cut end
of one of the halves b.tWecn h teeth,
he would chew it. lie d Il not take what
Ben Butler is SO fond o. dry smoke,
as it is called, but he chcVrd the cigar.
He determined TO break This habit,
and to help him the more cas- ly
to conquer it, he filled h pockets
with lOZenges or other choice candies
every morning. COnking ha, "a very
sweet tooth. and is very fond of good
candy The last three or four years he
was in the senate he was rarely without
a loZenge or other candy i'm his mouth.
Senator Eaton and Senator Jones, Of
/ Florida We're both pets OF C0ni<!ing,
and both being very fond of candy
almost daily performed This little COM
/ edy: Eaton would stroll oycrto Conk-
linz : desk and chat a few moments.
never failing to eyucc the profound
admiration for CouAln that he had
BY and by he would say: Conkling,
what do YOU do when Your throat is
dry and huSky?' Thereupon Conkling
would produce a box, in which were the
sugar plums. and Eaton. taking two or
three, would stroll leisurely away with
one in hi, mouth. BY and by Jones
would walk across the aisle and make
his obeisance to Conkling. Then he
would cough and hem and clear his
throat Out would come the box. and
Jones made himself happy with two or
three candies after sufficient hesitation
about taking them. Once when Jones
of Nevada, was making speech, and
his voice grew husky. Conkling arose,
pulled his box of CONNECTIONS from his
pocket, and presented it to the miner,
with as much formality and dignity as
though comforting TIE order of the
Garter. lie aftcrward told Jones that
if he would eat more candy and use less
tobacco he would have no trouble with
his voice.
But if the habit of chewing is de-
creasing, that of smoking is gaining.
The coming generation. 10y all signs,
will all smoke.-NeU York sun.